Palamuru suffers due to lack of health facilities, specialist doctors

Mahabubnagar: The Palamuru region, comprising the five newly carved districts from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district, is grappling with a severe shortage of healthcare facilities, specialist doctors, and other medical staff in the government sector.

According to the Health Dynamics of India 2022-23 report, the Palamuru region, which includes Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, Narayanpet, Gadwal, and Nagarkurnool districts, lacks the necessary health infrastructure and qualified specialists to meet the healthcare demands of its 4.2 million residents. Despite having an average population density of 222.46 people per square kilometer, healthcare facilities are not proportionally distributed. Consequently, rural populations in certain areas face challenges in accessing essential health services.

At present, the entire former Mahabubnagar region has only 89 Primary Health Centers (PHCs) at the mandal level, 583 sub-centers at the village level, 10 community health centers, and 5 district-level hospitals and medical colleges. Even these facilities are not adequately equipped to handle the growing disease burden in the region.

“There is no doubt that the region lacks sufficient healthcare infrastructure, doctors, and specialists to cater to the increasing number of patients visiting government hospitals. However, the situation has improved compared to a decade ago. Earlier, residents of Palamuru had to travel to Hyderabad or Kurnool for the treatment of complex health issues. In the past ten years, significant developments have been made, with existing hospitals being upgraded to district general hospitals, and the establishment of five new medical colleges, one in each newly carved district, has boosted the healthcare sector,” said Dr. Padma, District Medical and Health Officer, Mahabubnagar. She further added, “the opening of new medical colleges in Gadwal and Narayanpet this year has also helped upgrade infrastructure in these backward areas, providing people with quality healthcare free of cost. However, more super-specialty hospitals are needed to meet the growing demands, and I am hopeful that the facilities will improve in the coming years.”

The Health Dynamics of India report indicates that based on the current population density, the Palamuru region should have at least 210 PHCs, 840 sub-healthcare centers, and 35 community hospitals to meet the region’s growing healthcare needs. For example, the government general hospital in Mahabubnagar headquarters receives over 2,000 outpatients daily, but there are insufficient healthcare staff and specialist doctors to handle the patient load. Patients face long waiting periods to be diagnosed and treated by specialists for various ailments.

Among the five districts in the Palamuru region, Mahabubnagar has 129 sub-healthcare centers, 23 PHCs, 2 community health centers, and 1 government medical college. Nagarkurnool, the largest district, has 178 sub-centers, 25 PHCs, and 3 community centers. Narayanpet district has only 87 sub-healthcare centers, 13 PHCs, and 2 community centers.

Given these challenges, residents believe it is crucial for the government to enhance the region’s healthcare infrastructure and deploy more qualified doctors and specialists to meet the ever-growing healthcare needs.